Delta Sky Magazine’s PR Goof Goes Around the World With a Lot of Baggage

Well, Delta doesn’t like to tell people how to avoid baggage fees, so they are very careful what ads they let on Delta Sky Magazine’s pages. For ScotteVest, this was a great occasion to get free positive PR, while for Delta, the goof has piled the negative press in more than the company can carry.

Delta rejected a ScotteVest ad, as misleading to its customers:

Our discrepancy with this particular vendor was strictly based on creative standards. The submitted advertisement implied this product could help passengers avoid baggage fees, particularly for carry-on items. Delta Air Lines has no fees for any carry-on baggage, therefore this could be potentially misleading to our customers.

But ScotteVest CEO Scott Jordan argued the point: “Since Delta — and other airlines — limit passengers to one carry-on bag not to exceed a certain size, once you fill up that carry-on bag, you have no other choice other than to put your added stuff in another bag, which you then must check for a fee.”

The jacket, is developed with the TravelSmartSystem™ – a core group of pockets and features in SCOTTEVEST products designed for travelers, that consists of: patented personal area network; interior cell phone pocket; interior iPhone®/iPod®/iTouch® pocket; travel documents pocket; PubPocket™ – typically large enough to hold a magazine, Kindle® or small netbook; camera pocket; eyeglass pocket, including chamois with versatile clip and ID/business cards pocket.

The add for the jacket already ran in The New York Times Travel Magazine, and Delta spokeswoman Heather Faulkner said that ScotteVest is welcome to advertise in Sky Magazine if it provides an ad that accurately represents the airline’s policies.

DKC PR (Dan Klores Communications) is longstanding PR firm for Delta Airlines.